LA Lakers 101-90 Chicago Bulls: 5 hits and flops as red-hot Anthony Davis torches hometown team at United Center
Anthony Davis was on fire on Saturday as the LA Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls 101-90 at the United Center.
The Lakers dominated the Bulls in the first half, limiting them to only 33 points, and had just enough in the tank to finish off the game.
The Bulls came roaring back in the second half, but their run was staved off by key baskets from Davis before the third-quarter buzzer was sounded.
The LA Lakers caught the Chicago Bulls napping when the game began again, and the Purple and Gold turned an early lead into a 30-point margin by half-time.
Check out our 5 hits and flops from the LA Lakers-Chicago Bulls game on Saturday night:
Hit: Anthony Davis (LA Lakers)
Chicago native Anthony Davis was on fire from the start, scoring 23 points in the first half alone.
His final stat line is just as impressive - a season-high 37 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block.
Though the Chicago Bulls made a rally in the third, the LA Lakers recognized that Davis already did enough work to warrant a rest in the fourth quarter, finishing with 28 minutes of playing time.
The 7-time All-Star shot 14-of-21 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Flop: Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls)
One of the NBA’s top scorers this season at 27.2 points per game, Zach LaVine scored 21 points on Saturday, but most of them came too late as the LA Lakers had built up a huge lead. LaVine shot 9-of-23 from the field, including 1-of-6 from three.
The Chicago Bulls star also committed a game-high seven turnovers. LaVine was aggressive but he just couldn’t get anything going against a smothering Lakers defense.
Hit: LeBron James (LA Lakers)
It wasn’t the prettiest game from the 4-time MVP but LeBron James put in the work before halftime to keep the game out of reach for the Chicago Bulls.
The LA Lakers star played 29 minutes and had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. However, he shot only 6-of-16 from the field and had six turnovers.
James orchestrated the LA Lakers offense to perfection in the first half, leading to the 63-33 lead at the end of the second quarter. He also didn’t need to play in the fourth quarter, letting the bench take over.
Flop: Coby White (Chicago Bulls)
As Coby White is the Chicago Bulls' starter at the point this season, it was up to him to settle the team when the offense was becoming stagnant. Instead, he showed a lack of leadership on the floor.
The 6-foot-5 guard had a respectable 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but many of those came when the game was already beyond reach for the Bulls.
Hit: Montrezl Harrell (LA Lakers)
Montrezl Harrell only had 10 points and five rebounds, but it was his energy and scrappy play that helped keep the Bulls at bay when they were clawing their way back from a 30-point deficit.
Harrell led the second unit in maintaining the LA Lakers’ lead in the fourth quarter, stabilizing the offense and defense to dash any hopes that the Chicago Bulls had of coming back in this game.
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